


how could anybody deny you

by sunflowergolden



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Chef Harry Styles, F/F, Fluff, Girl Direction, Harry and Louis are girls, Songwriter Louis Tomlinson, Strangers to Lovers, and at the end ofc it's harry, but the dates are hardly there, louis calls harry love, louis sets a kitchen on fire on more than one occasion, louis wants to learn how to cook to impress her dates, wait so is niall, which in the beginning are not harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:15:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24308824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowergolden/pseuds/sunflowergolden
Summary: “Lou, again?! What is this, the fourth time this month?” Liam wondered why he was even shocked anymore.“Third! Only third!” Louis exclaimed, not wanting to make it worse than it was.“Ok, so it’s only the third time this month you’ve set the kitchen on fire while trying to impress a date, that’s not too bad.” Liam said sarcastically, not understanding how Louis had survived all these years being on her own.“It was going so well! We were laughing, we were drinking wine, I had diced onions, Liam, diced! And then suddenly the oven was on fire and the food was gone!”or, the one where louis and harry are both girls, louis needs some help in the kitchen and harry is the perfect teacher.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 5
Kudos: 66





	how could anybody deny you

**Author's Note:**

> hiii this is my first fic so i hope you like it  
> big shout out to my friends who listened to me talking/complaining about writing (which i've done a lot of) and a massive thank you to [jess](https://lgbtsrogers.tumblr.com) for making this fic a lot better and helping me!  
> title is from Coldplay's Green Eyes (pls go listen to it!)

This was already the third time this month Louis had called the fire brigade, and it was only the 12th of May. 

It started out as a great day for Louis; she finished a new song and her date started out great. They met at a bar last week and immediately hit it off, so Louis invited the girl to her apartment the next Friday for a homemade meal. The only problem was, Louis didn’t know how to cook to save her life. Luckily, she thought, there are so many youtube videos about cooking that she should be fine. To be fair, when she started, it was looking great. She diced (diced! Before this, she didn’t even know what that meant) the onion, she cut all the vegetables and they were slowly roasting in the oven. Her date, Tessa, arrived, they opened the wine and she was just telling Louis about that time she met Tom Hanks, when Louis smelled something weird. When she went into the kitchen, she felt her heart stop. There was fire coming out of the oven, and the food was black. Since this wasn’t her first time, the number for the fire brigade was still in her recents, so she called and before they knew it, the fire was out and she was waving goodbye to Eric, the fireman who had been in her apartment twice before. 

When she walked back into the kitchen, she could see Tessa packing her bag. “Hey so uh, I’m gonna go.” Tessa said sheepishly.

Louis panicked, since she didn’t want her to leave. “Wait! What if we just order pizza? They know me, so it’ll only take like fifteen minutes.”

“I’m so sorry, I forgot I had another appointment tonight.” 

Louis knew she was lying, but Tessa didn’t look like she was going to change her mind, so Louis had no other choice than to let her leave.

“Okay, well, it was nice to meet you, maybe we can see each other again?”

“Yeah, I’ll call you!” Tessa shouted, not even half-convincingly.

Before she knew it, Tessa was gone and Louis was standing in an empty kitchen with a burned oven.

A few minutes later, she started cleaning up in the kitchen. Eventually she heard a key in the lock and then Liam was walking into their shared flat. 

“Lou, again?! What is this, the fourth time this month?” Liam wondered why he was even shocked anymore.

“Third! Only third!” Louis exclaimed, not wanting to make it worse than it was.

“Ok, so it’s only the third time this month you’ve set the kitchen on fire while trying to impress a date, that’s not too bad.” Liam said sarcastically, not understanding how Louis had survived all these years being on her own.

“It was going so well! We were laughing, we were drinking wine, I had diced onions, Liam, diced! And then suddenly the oven was on fire and the food was gone!” 

“Just accept it Lou, cooking is not for you. Everyone has things they’re not good at, and for you it’s doing anything in a kitchen. So, I’m guessing we’re ordering pizza?”

Louis sighed, starting to believe that cooking was just not something she could do. “Yeah, yeah, pizza it is, I guess. Barbecue with a side of garlic bread please and thank you! Is Ni coming home soon?”

“Yeah, she just texted me to ask if it was safe to come home, so she should be here pretty soon.” Liam exclaimed.

Louis snorted, “it’s not that bad, is it?”

“Lou, you’ve been on three dates this month, and all three of them ended with the fire brigade in our kitchen and a date walking out of the door. I mean, they’re not the worst dates you’ve had, but also not the best.”

They’re definitely not the worst, Louis thought. There was Anna, who turned out to get off to watching people sleep. Then there was Lily, who ‘jokingly’ punched Louis every chance she got and then Fiona, who was so boring she literally put herself to sleep with her stories. Yeah, Louis doesn’t have the best history with dating.

“Which is why I want to keep practicing and keep going on dates with pretty women!” 

“Yeah but Lou, stop being a dumbass and think for a sec here. You’ve cooked three times this month, and you’ve set fire to food those three times. That’s got to be a sign. Maybe you should change your date plans?”

Before they had a chance to start arguing, Niall arrived home and deexculated the conversation. Soon, the pizza came, they ate and watched a movie and Louis tried to forget about her whole dating disaster. 

-

“Emergency flat meeting in the kitchen NOW!” Louis screamed as she walked into the flat the next day. 

Liam and Niall came running in from their rooms, “What? What happened?”

“So, I was minding my own business, getting a coffee after work, at the coffee place, you know the one, on the corner, with the cute sign right outs-“ 

“Lou, get to the point!” 

“I was getting there; please stop interrupting me, thank you. So, as I was saying, I was in the coffee shop, and there was this really cute girl, so of course I had to go and talk to her, and now I’ve got a date on Friday! The only problem though, I promised her I’d make a homemade meal, which of course I can not do, so you’ve gotta help me!” 

Liam and Niall shared a look, wondering, not for the first time, why they were friends with Louis.

“Lou, you will not set fire to our kitchen again. It’s not happening, no.” Liam pressed.

“I wasn’t planning to! That’s why I need your help! Teach me!” 

Niall looked from Liam to Louis with a very big smile on her face. “Hey, I read an ad a few days ago from someone who was offering cooking lessons, I’m pretty sure. Give me five minutes and I’ll have it for you!” Before anyone could speak, Niall had darted into her own room, phone in her hand. 

“Ok, that was weird...” Louis said, but before Liam could comment, Niall was walking back into the kitchen. 

“Here! _Hi! I am Harry, 25 years old, professional chef, and I’m looking for people who need some help in the kitchen! I’ve been a chef at Sartoria since 2017, but I’m also looking for some new experience. So, are you a disaster in the kitchen, but do you want to learn how to cook? Then I feel like I’m the one you need! Please don’t hesitate to send me an email._ Lou, that’s you! You’re the disaster in the kitchen she’s talking about!” 

“It’s perfect! She seems nice, funny, she’s only a year younger than you, and maybe you’ll actually learn something!” Liam encouraged.

“I don’t know...,” Louis hesitated, “what if she’s like, weird?”

“Well, do you want to have a date and not set fire to our kitchen or do you want to keep being miserable and lonely forever?”

“Ok Ni, I guess you have a point. I’ll email her tonight.” 

-

Surprisingly (or not, Louis is still not convinced she’s not a weirdo), Harry had time for her on Friday. They arranged over email for Louis to go to Harry’s flat, and luckily it was only a ten minute walk. Harry lived on the first floor, so Louis took the stairs up to flat 14 and rang the bell. 

The door opened and before her stood the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. There isn’t even really a way for Louis to describe her, she thinks. The girl has gorgeous brown short hair, green eyes, and the clothes she’s wearing fit her so well Louis has a hard time not passing out. 

“Hi, you must be Louis, come on in!” Harry gave her the most blinding smile.

Louis had a hard time getting words out of her mouth, but she finally managed something. 

“Hi Harry, nice to meet you.” She stuck out her hand, and Harry shook it. Harry’s hands turned out to be a lot bigger than hers and she was transfixed for a moment. She quickly shook herself out of her trance, released Harry’s hand and followed her into her flat. 

Before Louis knew it, they were standing in the most gorgeous kitchen she had ever seen. Everything looked so clean and white, and some of the appliances Louis had never even seen in her life. 

“So Louis, I know you explained a little bit over email, but could you maybe tell me again what exactly it is you’re looking for?” 

“I desperately need help cooking. I can’t cook to save my life, and I’m on my way to 30, so it’s getting to be a little embarrassing now.”

“You can’t be that bad!” Harry exclaimed.

“You’re thinking too highly of me. I’ve cooked exactly three times this month, and during all three of them I managed to set the food on fire and the fire brigade had to come, so I’m not the best.” Louis said, while laughing a little sadly to herself.

“Three times?! Wow, I’m impressed. I’ve been cooking since I was six, and I’ve only set fire to my food once. In my defense, I was only nine… so I feel like I get a pass.” Harry laughed.

Louis couldn’t help but smile at that. “Ok, ok, I guess you do. So, I want to impress my dates by serving them a homemade meal, but so far all of them have walked out on me before we had a chance to have dinner.”

Louis swore she saw Harry frown a little, but before she could comment, the frown was gone and Harry had a big smile on her face again.

“I can definitely help you with that! Not to brag, but I’ve impressed a multitude of people with my impeccable cooking skills. Do you have anything you’d like to start with?” Harry said with a look on her face that definitely looked like she wanted to brag. Louis couldn’t disagree with her, that did sound impressive.

“Maybe something simple that’s really hard to set on fire? I feel like pasta should be something that’s achievable, right?” Louis said, thinking back to her dates and not wanting to repeat that a fourth time this month.

“Oooh, I have a great recipe for pasta pesto, this will be fun!” Harry said, wearing a smile that made it seem like someone just gave her the best gift of her life. 

Before Louis had a chance to blink, Harry had laid out all the ingredients on the table and they were already cooking.

-

“So, how was this experience?” Harry asked with a look on her face that said if Louis even thought about disagreeing she would burst into tears.

Louis walked around the kitchen island and turned to face Harry again. 

“This is actually easier than I thought it would be. I mean, I didn’t set anything on fire, so that’s a huge achievement in itself.” 

“It is, and you should be proud of yourself! Are you ready to taste?” 

“Hell yeah!” Louis said, even though she was a little nervous she had completely fucked up the recipe, but she had to admit the food looked really good.

While walking past her to take her seat at the dining table, Harry accidentally brushed her hand against Louis’, and Louis swore she felt a spark.

-

To her luck, Louis did not mess up the food, and it actually tasted delicious.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe I made this? With your help of course, but that’s beside the point. How? This has to be a joke.” Louis exclaimed, not actually believing that she made something that actually tasted good.

“See! I told you it was easy! You just have to figure out what you’re doing and don’t stress, and most importantly have faith in yourself! You did great!” Harry looked like she was proud of Louis.

“It was, thank you so much. I don’t know how I can repay you.” Louis said, not believing she could actually make food (this was a breakthrough, okay?!). 

“Just let me know when you’ve made this at home and not set fire to your kitchen!” 

“Ha, ha, very funny. Louis doesn’t know how to cook, so the only thing she can do in the kitchen is set the whole thing on fire.” Louis tried to look angry, but she didn’t succeed very well. In her defence, when you think about it, it was quite funny. Before they knew it, both Louis and Harry couldn’t hold their laughter in anymore and then they were both crying with laughter.

“Sorry, sorry! I’m trying so hard, but I just… have such a hard time believing it. You’re almost thirty, and this was the first real meal you’ve completed.” Harry said, but she didn’t sound like she was put off by it. 

“I know! But to my defence, I just have very lovely family members and friends who are always more than happy to cook for me, so I’ve never really had to learn it.”

Louis knew how lucky she was, considering she had such a great group of people around her. Her family and flatmates just love to cook for a lot of people, so she could just always eat their food and not worry about cooking a full meal by herself. 

“It’s not just that! I get such joy out of it. Like, when I’m cooking in the restaurant, I know I’m feeding a lot of people and I always think about who they are. Are they a family out for dinner, are people on the first date, is someone proposing? Just think of the difference the food I prepare for them makes! It can make or break the whole outing!” Harry exclaimed, looking so happy. 

This girl was definitely something. 

“I stand by it, you’re a weirdo. A good weirdo, but still a weirdo.”

“I just like cooking! It’s different!” Harry tried to defend herself.

“Whatever you say, weirdo.” Louis laughed.

-

“Hello my loves, I have awakened as a new woman!” Louis shouted as she walked into the flat.

“Hey Lou! Take it the cooking lesson went well?” Liam asked.

“Hell yeah! I made a meal! Without setting anything on fire! And it tasted delicious!” 

Louis kicked off her shoes and joined her friends on the sofa, squished between Liam and Niall.

“Who are you? What did you do to Louis?” Niall laughed, not believing Louis just yet.

“So, how was Harry? Not a weirdo I take it?”

“Oh, big, big weirdo. But in a good way. Like a very loving weirdo. Also she’s so hot, I wanna die.”

“Oooh Lou maybe you can impress her with one of your meals!” Liam sounded genuinely excited, even though he hadn’t even met the girl. 

“Nuh uh, no way! I need to keep our relationship professional, since I’m nowhere near done yet. Doesn’t matter how badly I want to marry her.” Louis sighed.

Louis wasn’t lying. Harry really is the perfect woman. She’s gorgeous, funny (in a weird way, but Louis likes that), she can cook, and she’s way too nice. If Louis wasn’t so keen on having more lessons to learn how to cook, she definitely would’ve made a move on Harry already.

“Lou! That’s so cu-“ 

“Shut up Leemo! It is not! I have a date this Friday so I need to practise! Anyway, as I was saying, I have mastered the art of making pasta pesto, but since I want it to be perfect, I will be making it every day up to Friday so you’ll just have to stomach that!” 

Before any of them could reply, Louis was off to her own room.

-

Louis stuck to her word. Every day this week she had practised making the pasta, which meant that every night for dinner they had pasta pesto.

“Lou, please tell me you’re done with this pasta after tomorrow. I literally can’t have any more.”

“Yeah yeah Ni, I’m done practising! I just have to make sure it’s perfect tomorrow, so then my work won’t have been for nothing.”

“I know you’ll do great. We’ve had it four times this week and every time it was really good. I just don’t think I can handle any more.”

“Great! Just remember, next week it will be something new!”

Niall and Liam groaned at the same time.

-

“Hii Lou, come on in!” Harry said happily, hugging Louis before she even had a chance to say something.

Harry stepped aside to let Louis into the kitchen and Louis once again found herself entranced with how beautiful Harry’s kitchen was. Not just the kitchen actually, but the whole flat. It was modern and mostly white, but it looked very lived-in. It was such a contrast from her flat, which was colourful and very messy.

“I just... still can’t believe you live here. Your whole place is so gorgeous.” Just like you, Louis thinks but doesn’t say, because she’s a coward. She’s aware of that, thank you.

Harry’s smile was blinding. “Thanks! To be fair, I worked really hard to get here and I am really proud of my own space. Also! Really happy with it! I always love coming home after a very long shift at the restaurant.”

“Also, how did it go Friday?? You still haven’t told me!”

Louis thought back on her date and couldn’t help but smile. “It went great, we’re even going on a second date this Friday! I didn’t set anything on fire and the dinner was fantastic! To be fair, I did practise every day last week, but still.”

“Who cares?! You made a great dinner! I’m so proud of you! So, are you ready for your next lesson?” Harry looked incredibly happy.

“Thank you.” Louis blushed. “You know I am! What are we making today? Is it a quiche? I love quiches!” Louis said excitedly. 

“Sadly, no. But now that I know how happy you get from quiches, I have to store that information away for later. Today, I thought we’d make sheet pan sausage and veggies!” 

“You’re kidding me right? There’s no way that’s an actual meal.” Louis laughed.

“What do you mean? It’s easy, it’s tasty, it’s the perfect recipe for you! It’s literally veggies and sausages that go in the oven together.” Harry laughed.

“Sounds fake, but okay. Gimme what you got, Styles.” Louis teased.

“So! As you can see I’ve already got all the ingredients, so all we have to do is cut the vegetables and put them in the oven! Easy peasy lemon squeezy!” 

“I’ve still got my suspicions, but I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Just because it’s you.” Louis teased.

“My, my, what an honour, miss Tomlinson. I’ll try not let you down.” Harry said fake-seriously. Louis had a hard time not jumping Harry right then and there.

Quickly they began preparing the dinner, and more and more Louis started to believe this was again a dish she could do at home. She hadn’t had any knife accidents yet in the 26 years she had been alive, and she thought she deserved a fourth chance with the oven.

-

An hour later, Louis was tasting the most delicious dish she had ever had - so what if she was exaggerating? She made it, she’s proud of it, she’s gonna brag - while Harry was watching her, trying to figure out her reaction.

“You like it, right? Please tell me you like it.” Harry said worriedly.

“Don’t worry love, I love it. I might be biased, but I believe this has been the best meal I have ever had in my life. And it was so easy!” _Oh God, did I just call her ‘love’?_ She froze and looked at Harry, who had a shy smile and a faint blush on her cheeks. Maybe… she liked the nickname?

“I told you! You just have to know where to start and what recipes to make, and then everyone can learn how to cook.” 

“This was honestly great, thank you Harry.” Harry ducked her head and her smile got a bit wider. 

“No worries! I like teaching you new stuff, you’re a great student and I feel like we’re having fun.” Harry laughed, but suddenly turned nervous. “Please tell me you’re also having fun, and I’m not perceiving this all wrong.” 

Louis touched Harry’s arm to calm her down- she swore she felt sparks again. “Don’t worry sunshine, I’m loving it!”

Harry’s smile was blinding. “Hey! You want to stay a little bit longer and watch a movie?”

Louis pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. _Fuck, okay that hurt. Definitely not dreaming._ She couldn’t believe Harry actually wanted to spend more time with her. 

“Yeah, I’d love that! What are we watching?”

-

Louis couldn’t remember a single plotline from _Booksmart,_ the movie they had watched. She was a bit preoccupied; she was way too busy staring at Harry. Obviously, Harry didn’t notice. If Harry had turned in her direction she quickly flicked her eyes back to the screen. Louis just couldn’t wrap her head around a woman this gorgeous actually existing. The thing was, Harry wasn’t just beautiful, she was kind and funny and so easy to talk to. 

“Ah shit,” Louis cursed, after checking her phone. “I’ve really got to go. I have to be back at work early tomorrow morning, so I really should get home. I’ve had an absolutely wonderful time, love. Want to meet again next Sunday?” Louis asked hopefully.

“Of course! We can’t suddenly quit the lessons now! You have a streak of not setting anything on fire.” Harry blushed as she walked Louis to the door.

For a second there Louis thought the other girl was going to kiss her, but before she had time to think about it, Harry was wishing her a good night and had shut the door. 

\- 

Louis was in great spirits before the date. She had a couple sessions with some up-and-coming singer-songwriters, she sold a song to Hayley Kiyoko, and she couldn’t wait for her date on Friday.

She was excited for Friday night. They knew each other well at this point and Louis was kinda hoping she would stay the night. Not that Louis was counting on it, but it would be nice to get some one-on-one attention for a change. Of course, first she had a dinner to make and a girl to impress.

The evening started out wonderfully. They had shared a bottle of white wine and dinner was great, thanks to Harry's help. Louis was surprised at how great it tasted. Usually her meals turned out better with Harry around. The only thing that annoyed Louis, was that Anna’s phone kept buzzing non-stop. It was lying on the table, so they felt every single buzz. Louis didn’t think much of it. Maybe she should have.

During cleaning up, Anna got a phone call. “I’m so sorry, I have to take this.” Anna said apologetically and quickly walked out of the room. Louis could hear vague parts of the conversation.

“It’s been a while, yeah… No, I’m not busy. I can talk.” _What?_ “I know, I miss you too…” Louis could see where this was going.“What do you mean? You still love me?” “Of course I do too! You’re an idiot. Yeah, I’ll come over right now!” Even before Anna said a word, Louis knew this - whatever it was between them - was over. “Hey, so, I don’t know what you heard -“ 

“Everything, basically”

“I’m sorry, Louis. It was lovely getting to know you, but I have the woman of my dreams waiting for me, and this time I really can’t let her go.” Anna sounded apologetic.

Louis didn’t know why the woman felt compelled to tell her all that, but at least she sounded like she was actually sorry. 

“Yeah, yeah, no worries. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. It was lovely meeting you too, thank you for everything.” 

Anna gave Louis a quick kiss on the cheek, and then she was gone. 

Anna leaving like that hurt Louis more than she was willing to admit. She thought they were getting on splendidly, and she actually really enjoyed spending time with the girl. Maybe she should hit the pause button on dating for a while, seeing as basically all her dates these last couple of months did not turn out well. 

But, then she wouldn’t need cooking lessons anymore. Thinking of Harry made Louis feel better, but she couldn’t shake her disappointment when she thought of Anna. She enjoyed her dates with Anna, but she loved spending time with Harry. Maybe… she could just continue the lessons… and keep seeing Harry. She needed help learning to cook anyway...

-

Louis was spread out on the sofa, pint of ice cream in her hands. “Hey Lou, how did the date go?” Liam asked, when he and Niall walked into the apartment the next morning.

“Awful, worst date ever. I have given up on love and I’m becoming a cat lady.”

“You know that’s not true so don’t even try it. If it were as bad as you make it out to be, you would’ve called us last night.” Liam argued.

“You didn’t set anything on fire again, did you?” Niall teased.

“Shut up, Niall.” She grumbled, sitting up and shoveling more ice cream into her mouth as she glared at her. “Okay, Liam, you’ve got me. If I’m honest, it started out great! The food was delicious, we were having some wine, we were just talking and I actually thought we were building to something. Only thing was her phone kept buzzing… I didn’t think any of it. Turns out, it was her ex-girlfriend, who suddenly decided Anna was the love of her life or something. She wanted her back, so she basically got up and ran from the flat.” Louis sighed and fell back on the sofa.

“Oh Lou, that’s horrible. Also, who just leaves _during_ a date?!” Liam couldn’t believe this was Louis’ real life. 

“Yeah, I know. It did really bum me out, but it’s not the worst thing that’s ever happened. At least she didn’t masturbate to me sleeping. ”

“So, what now? Are you quitting the cooking lessons or are you going straight back out there again?” Niall asked.

“Nah, I think I wanna keep going. I love spending time with Harry, plus it’s actually fun to learn not to burn every bloody thing I make.”

“Hey! Speaking of Harry, maybe you can actually like to make a move on her, or at least figure out if she likes you back! Right?” Liam said enthusiastically. 

“Nope, no way. There’s no way she likes me, Lima. She’s so confident- she definitely would have told me if she liked me. Also… why would she ever go for someone like me when she could literally have anyone she wanted. She’s like a greek goddess hand-crafted into clay to make the most beautiful woman in existence. I have smelly feet and sometimes I don’t wash my hands after I pee.” Louis wasn’t stupid. She knew she was attractive, but she also knew she was way out of Harry’s league, and there’s no way Harry would ever settle.

“C’mon Lou, you know that’s not true. Don’t downplay yourself. Honestly, how could she ever have let you know that she liked you when you’ve always made it very clear that you are learning to cook to impress your dates? I mean, do you really think she’d purposely mess up a date for you just to let you know her feelings?” Liam asked.

“Ok, I guess you have a point there. But still, my point stands. I’m not shitting on myself, I’m just being realistic. So, I will continue to take these lessons, but there’s no way I’m talking to her about any of this. No way.” Louis exclaimed.

-

It was only a few days later, and already Louis was rethinking her earlier standpoint. The problem was that Louis honestly could not stop picturing her life together with Harry in the future. The more they texted the more she imagined soft kisses over dinner and dates to whatever hipster coffee shop or indie band Harry liked. Maybe she was getting ahead of herself… but she really liked Harry. 

She had arrived 30 minutes ago for her cooking lesson, and so far she had already zoned out of the conversation about six times. She couldn’t stop thinking about her and Harry getting married and having a gaggle of kids. Harry would be such a great mother, goofy and patient… Louis knew she was maybe going a bit fast, but she also knew that she had never felt this strongly about anyone before. Of course she had loved some of her girlfriends, but she never felt like this when she was with them. 

“So Lou, how does that sound?”

 _Shit, not again!_ “Sorry, what did you say?”

“Louuu, stop it. Am I really that boring?” Harry pouted.

“What?! No, of course not! I’m just … My head is just a little full. Nothing to do with you, love.” Louis swore she could see Harry blush… was it at the nickname, or was it because she was embarrassed by the prospect of being boring? Either way, she had to admit that was a good look on her. “So, what were you saying?”

“I was just asking what you thought of making quiche for dinner? It’s easy, it’s quick, and we both love it!”

“You remembered that?” Louis asked, not really expecting that. 

“Of course I do, Lou! You know I listen to everything you say.” Harry laughed. “Although, that can’t be said for some people here.” She joked.

“Heyy, that’s not fair.” Louis pouted and poked Harry in the side.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” Harry laughed. “Okay, time to get to work!”

-

Louis was amazed by how something so simple and easy could taste so good. Preparing all the ingredients was pretty easy, and overall it was a very uncomplicated recipe. During dinner Harry brought something up that Louis was hoping to avoid all in all. 

“So, you never told me how your second date went! Tell me all about it! How did she like the meal?” Harry sounded very excited.

“Do I really have to? Can’t I just say there’s not going to be a third date and leave it at that?” Louis didn’t really want to talk about it, especially not with Harry. She wanted Harry to like her, not feel bad for her because her date left in the middle of their dinner. And yet… 

Harry’s smile disappeared and she suddenly looked very serious. “Oh God Lou, I’m sorry. What happened?” She sounded genuinely sad for Louis.

“The dinner went great! I did all the preparations right and it tasted delicious, if I do say so myself. It’s just… she was getting all these messages during dinner and afterwards someone called her. She left to go pick it up. Turns out it was her ex-girlfriend, who she was apparently still in love with, who suddenly decided she needed to be with her, so she basically got up and ran out of there. So, guess I’m back to impressing girls on the very first date.”

“Oh my god, she didn’t even wait until after the date? Wow Lou, I’m honestly so sorry, and I think you deserve someone better.” _Like you,_ Louis thought.

“Hey, I was wondering, if you got to choose a dish that you would make to impress a girl on the first date, what would it be?” Harry asked, suddenly sounding very interested.

“That’s such a hard question though! I wouldn’t want to go for something too complicated. Maybe pizza? But then homemade, that we can actually make together, so that that’s kind of part of the date. I think I’d go for that. Why do you ask?” Louis was very proud of herself. That actually sounded like a great idea, and something that she would keep in mind for another time. 

Harry suddenly looked everywhere except into Louis’ eyes. “No reason! I was just curious, since I always already have a dish in mind, but I never even really know if you like that idea or if you’re just going along with it.” Harry looked a bit shy, and Louis couldn’t have that. Harry should never be anything other than confident.

“No! I honestly always really enjoy the dish we’re making. I wouldn’t lie to you H, never. Don’t worry.” 

The relief that showed on Harry’s face was indescribable. “Ok, good. Thank you.”

“Oh, and Lou?” She looked up at Louis, her green eyes sending butterflies throughout Louis’ body.

“Yeah?”

“For the record, I’d never lie to you either.” The two girls smiled shyly at each other. Louis was so gone for. 

-

Harry and Louis texted even more during the week. Every time Louis had some free time, she was on her phone. On Tuesday afternoon, she was cornered by Niall and Liam.

“Hey Lou, what’ya doing?”

“What do you mean? I’m sitting here, on the sofa, right next to you two losers. What do you think I’m doing?” She couldn’t tell if they were being purposely obtuse or what. It was hard being the smart one, but they’d been through so much she had no choice but to keep her girls with her. She loved them for what they are, even if it they were a bit dumb sometimes. 

“No you doofus. I mean, what’s got you glued to your phone 24/7 these last few weeks? Or should I say _who_ has you glued to your phone? It’s like, you’re here, but you’re also not here, cause you never hear a word of what we say when you’re on that thing.” 

“That’s not true, I’m very good at multitasking! Look, I’m even doing it right now!” To make her point, Louis tried to text Harry while she was talking, but that definitely did not work. Ok, so maybe they had a point. Not that she would admit it though, but the thought is there.

“No you loser, you can’t. I just saw you totally butchering that text. Also, are you gonna tell us who it is or are we going to have to guess and get it right on the first try?” Niall laughed.

“Please stop making fun of me. You already know it’s Harry.” Louis whined and kicked Niall’s leg. She wasn’t actually annoyed; she loved that they cared, even if they were into boys.

“Have you made any progress with her yet? Like, have you already looked into each other’s eyes longingly? Did your hands brush and did you feel an electric spark?” Liam asked, laughing. 

Louis tried to sheepishly look the other way and hit Liam in the arm.

“Lou, oh my god, I was kidding! What happened? Tell us!”

“Nothing happened! I just -” Louis didn’t want to sound weird, but these were her friends, nothing she could say would make them think she was any more weird than they already did. “I mean, I definitely felt a spark when we touched. I know! It’s strange, weird, whatever, but there definitely was something. And like, every time I mentioned I had a date, she looked a little put out, but I think that was just me hoping. That’s it. I promise.” The more Louis thought back to that first moment, the more she believed Harry actually did look sad when she mentioned the dates she was going on. Which would be weird, since that was literally the first time they met. 

“That is not nothing! This is big! She definitely likes you! It actually sounds like you’re getting somewhere with her. All you gotta do now is ask her out and hope she says yes”

“What the fuck, Li?! I’m not asking her out!” Louis exclaimed. Like she was going to make such a fool of herself. No way. 

“Hey dumbass! Why don’t ya invite her here? Just say you’re gonna hang out. Watch a movie, drink some beer or something. Then you can test the waters, see what’s happening outside of the kitchen you’re always hanging out in.”

Louis thought about that idea for a second, and she had to admit it wasn’t the worst idea she had ever heard. To be fair, Niall had had some very stupid ideas in the past, so it was not like that was a strict criteria, but still. 

“You know, that is actually a pretty good idea. Maybe I’ll actually do that. Thank you Ni, love you. Li, you suck.”

To make her point clear, Louis placed a big fat kiss on Niall’s cheek and walked straight past Liam while flicking him off.

“What the fuck? What did I do?” Liam wondered aloud, but Louis was already gone.

-

Louis didn’t know why she was nervous. After the conversation with Liam and Niall, Louis immediately texted Harry to see if she was up for coming over to their flat. Of course, Harry being Harry, she immediately agreed, _I love meeting new people,_ and they settled on the next day. Which was now. Or, according to their texts, Harry was supposed to come over at eight. So why did she already hear their doorbell when it’s clearly only seven fifty-one? Louis was supposed to have another nine minutes of freaking out.

“Lou, get your ass out of there before I’m kicking you out and telling Harry all of your secrets!” Niall sang, sounding fed up with Louis’ bullshit.

Yeah, that was not going to happen. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming!”

Louis pulled her door open, and almost ran to the front door.

 _Calm down,_ she thought to herself. This is Harry, lovely, wonderful, gorgeous - no! Now is not the time for these types of thoughts. Keep it together, Tomlinson.

She opened the door and before her stood Harry, in all her gorgeous glory. 

“Hey H! Welcome to our humble abode. Come on in. These are my flatmates and best friends, Liam and Niall. Li, Ni, this is Harry, blah, blah.”

“Hi, Harry!”

“Finally we can put a face to the person Louis won’t stop talking about!” Liam laughed and Louis wanted to punch him.

“Don’t know what she’s talking about, I’ve never uttered a word about you in my life to anyone, don’t let them fool you.” Louis tried to talk herself out of that a little, but she knew she wasn’t fooling anyone. 

“Lou, I’m disappointed. You don’t talk to your friends about me? I talk about you all the time to anyone who will listen.” Harry joked, but Louis had to admit that she wasn’t sure if there wasn’t some truth in that sentence. 

“So, are you ready to be interrogated by my friends and watch a movie at the same time?” Louis made sure that she sounded like she was excited, but if she were honest, she definitely was a little nervous. Her friends’ opinions meant a lot to her, and she wouldn’t know what she’d do if they didn’t like Harry.

“I definitely am! And don’t worry, I prepared for this.” Harry actually sounded like she was serious.

What did she do? Answer questions while watching a movie? Answered a lot of hard questions? Louis didn’t know, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know.

-

Two hours later, Louis didn’t know why she was even nervous in the first place. When they all got to the living room and sat down, Harry immediately claimed the spot next to Louis on the sofa and there hadn’t been a moment where not at least one part of their bodies didn’t touch. Louis honestly didn’t know how she has been able to keep it together all this time. 

It seemed like Niall and Liam loved Harry. They, mostly Liam though, asked a lot of random questions that Louis already knew the answer to, since they had been texting so much. Harry didn’t seem to mind telling them all about her, and asking questions about them in return. She actually looked like she was enjoying it. They were watching some new romantic comedy that Louis didn’t even remember the name to, since she was too busy staring at Harry. To be fair, some of the times when she looked at Harry, she could see Harry already staring at her, which was… interesting, to say the least. Louis wasn’t sure yet what to do with that information. About three quarters into the movie, Harry suddenly laid her head on Louis’ shoulder. Louis wasn’t sure if she was still breathing.

“Is this okay?” Harry asked quietly, angling her head so she could look up at Louis.

“Always H, always.” Louis smiled, although she didn’t know how she hadn’t passed out yet. 

Harry sighed, and turned her head back towards the screen.

-

Louis hadn’t even closed the door yet, before Liam and Niall were cornering her. 

“Lou, she’s into you, big time. How could you not see that?”

“She wants to have your babies, it’s serious like crazy.” Niall sang, in the tune of that Natasha Bedingfield song.

Honestly, why was Louis friends with them again? 

“Are you serious? How do you know?” Louis was trying very hard not to get too excited, but that was starting to be a little difficult.

“Did you not see the way she was looking at you? She looks at you like you have all the answers in the world.” 

“I wish someone looked at me like that.” Liam sighed dreamily. 

Louis didn’t know what to do with that information, so she decided to change topics.

“I did not know that. What did you think, like, do you like her? Not that I care about your opinions, but I’d like to hear them.” Louis bit her lips together as she looked between her two best friends.

“She’s perfect for you. Nice, funny, and sweet fuck, you did not say that she was this gorgeous? What the fuck, how does someone just look like that?” Niall exclaimed, while Liam was busy nodding his head to what Niall was saying. “She has _me_ questioning.”

“Right?! Now you know what I’m feeling!”

Content with her friend's approval, Louis went to her room to text Harry to set up an appointment for their next cooking lesson.

-

During the week Louis and Harry just kept texting, and to her surprise, Harry invited Louis out on Wednesday. Turns out, Harry is a massive fan of live music and one of her friends is performing in a bar, so she asked Louis to come with her to check her out. 

Louis was again freaking out what to wear (was this going to be a pattern?). Should she go with one of her staple sundresses with some cute earrings? Would that be too cold? Or should she wear her fave boyfriend jeans with a cute top? These were her struggles as a 26 year old woman, and she kind of hated herself for it.

In the end she went with her favourite boyfriend jeans (which made her butt look great, if she had to say so herself), a lovely red crop top, her white converse and a jumper in case it was cold at night. She took the underground to the address Harry provided, and of course Harry was already standing outside the bar when she arrived. She looked gorgeous as always, with her wide jeans, doc martens and a button down. Louis swallowed when she saw Harry from up close. She was sure she had unbuttoned a few more buttons than normal, so that her boobs were definitely on show, but not too much. After regaining herself, she walked up to Harry to greet her.

She was going to have a stroke. _Don’t stare at her boobs, Louis._

“Hey H, you look amazing!”

Harry blushed. “Have you seen yourself? You look great.”

Louis probably rocked a similar blush. “Thank you. So, what’s the plan?”

“I just thought we’d get some drinks, and then at 9 my best friend Zayn is performing.”

Zayn? That name rang a bell somewhere far in Louis’ mind, but she couldn’t make the connection.

“Sounds great, let's go!”

-

Louis was honestly having a great time. They were laughing, and drinking, and just talking about themselves, not about any of Louis’ dates, which she was glad for. Louis learned that Harry is very close with her family, just like herself, and that her big sister actually lives in the city. She doesn’t get to see her mum as much as she wants to, but they talk all the time over the phone. 

“Honestly? I’m a lot closer to my sister now than I used to be. Before, she was just always pissed off because according to her I’m ‘way too friendly to everyone’, but I just like people?” Harry sounded a little confused, but Louis could definitely see where Gemma was coming from. Harry did seem like a person who would be nice to everyone always. “But, I did always love having a big sister. I used to call her a lot a few years back when I was too drunk to go home by myself. Now I mostly just complain about girls and my bad luck with dating.” Harry laughed. Louis almost couldn’t believe that Harry was still single, and apparently had been for quite a while. 

“Moved to London after I finished secondary school, went to a cooking school here, had some sucky jobs in the business for a while, but they did lead me to Sartoria, where I’ve been working for three years now, which I absolutely love. I try to cycle to work every day, since I’m so bad at exercising, only every do yoga, but London can be quite dangerous sometimes, so it really depends on the day.”

“So, how about you, I feel like I know nothing about you. What do you even do for work? Do you have any siblings, they as weird as you?” Harry looked very interested. 

“They’re pretty normal actually. Normal house, lots of kids, a mum and stepdads. Used to play football with my family all the time. I still try to do it often, but sadly I’m too busy to actually join a team. Love the sport to bits still. I love my siblings all so much and I try to go back home once every month. Used to babysit a lot, when my mum had to work, and I was a little shit back in the day. Watched shows with them they were definitely not allowed to watch yet and let a multitude of my sisters drive our car on an abandoned parking lot long before they got their driver's license.”

“Wait, a multitude of your sisters? How many do you have?” Harry laughed. 

“Five. And a brother. I know, I know, very big family, but I love them all very much.”

“It definitely sounds like it.”

“I went to uni in Manchester. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to do something with music, and I’ve always loved writing, so I found a songwriting course there, and moved to London after I got my degree. I love Manchester, but to be at least a bit successful in music, London is really the place to be. I was quite lucky, as I had some contacts in London, from uni, so I immediately had some work. I’m a freelance songwriter, but I have some standard artists that I work with on a regular basis, and sometimes someone famous actually wants my songs, which is still a little difficult for me to fathom.” Louis wasn’t lying. She’s been a songwriter for almost six years now, but it still blows her mind when a big name loves her songs.

“Wait, do I know any of the songs you’ve written?” Harry asked excitedly, while scooting a little closer to Louis. She had such a hard time focusing on Harry’s face, but she was trying so hard. 

Louis blushed. “Maybe? Have you heard Desire by Years and Years?”

“I love that song! Wow, you write some really good ones.”

“Thank you. That is one I’m really proud of. Right now I’m working with a couple of artists who are just starting out, but I also really love that. Most of them are really talented and I can’t wait to see what happens.”

Before they knew it, the lights were dimming and someone was announcing the artist of the night, that being Harry’s best friend, Zayn. Louis was excited to hear him sing, and also maybe getting to know someone from Harry’s life. 

The minute he started singing, Louis knew why that name sounded familiar. She actually worked with him a couple of months ago on a song. They didn’t work together very long, so she didn’t really get an impression of him, but from what she knew, he seemed like a nice guy and his voice was unreal. He sang five songs, and by the end Louis was mesmerised. He was incredible. After his encore, Louis and Harry were jumping on their feet and clapping as loudly as they could.

“So, what did you think?” Harry asked excitedly.

“He is amazing. His voice is unreal. I’m so impressed.”

Before she had a chance to tell Harry about their meeting, she was dragging Louis to the front of the stage to officially meet Zayn.

“Zayn, this is Louis. Lou, this is my best friend Zayn.”

“Hey Louis! Did you like the set?” Zayn asked, while looking at Louis with a little bit of a confused look on his face. “Wait, you seem really familiar, have we ever met before?” 

Harry looked at Louis with a similar look on her face.

“We have, actually.” Louis said sheepishly. “We worked together a few months ago, for one of your songs.”

“Oh I remember, you’re that amazing songwriter!” Okay, now he was just trying to make Louis blush. It was working.

Harry looked a little sad, and Louis didn’t understand why. 

“Love? What’s up?”

“I can’t believe you two already know each other, and I didn’t even introduce you guys. I think you could be such good friends.” Harry pouted.

“H. We worked together literally for one day. I don’t even know his last name.” Louis tried to comfort Harry. From the look of her face, it was working.

“It’s Malik.” Zayn smiled. “So, how about I buy you both some drinks and we can have a little chat? I can’t wait to finally talk to the woman Harry hasn’t been able to shut up about.”

“Hey, not cool Z! You weren’t supposed to mention that.” Harry was definitely blushing. It was a great look on her. 

-

Louis had to admit Harry was right. She could definitely see herself being good friends with Zayn. He loved music, he was funny, and he was very sociable. So, as it turns out, Zayn and Harry met in secondary school. They immediately clicked, due to their love of music, and Harry has since gone to every single one of Zayn’s performances. Before Louis knew it, it was 2 am and the bar was closing. She said goodbye to Zayn and Harry outside, the hug with Harry lasting just a little bit longer than the one with Zayn, and then she was off. It was spring, so it wasn’t that cold, but Louis was glad she brought her jumper anyway. The flat was quiet when she got home, and she didn’t even have time to brush her teeth before she fell asleep, thinking of her next cooking lesson with Harry on Friday.

-

“So, why are we still doing cooking lessons if you don't have another date with Anna? Since you mentioned over text that you don’t have a new date planned. Not that I mind of course, I really like spending time with you!” Harry hastily added.

“I actually really enjoy learning to properly cook and learning new dishes, believe it or not.” Louis said, a little sarcastically. “So, what are we making today?”

Harry suddenly looked very shy and uncomfortable, again. Louis had noticed the change in her behavior a few days after their movie night. Louis had asked her what was wrong, but Harry hadn’t let anything slip. 

“Oh, I thought we’d make something from scratch today, if you don’t mind.” Harry paused, looking anywhere but Louis. “I thought we’d make pizza from scratch… if you’re okay with that of course! If you’re not, we can also make something else. I have a lot of ingredients in the fridge, let me have a look to see - ” Harry trailed off and turned to dash to her fridge.

Louis immediately thought about how she had told Harry that she would have loved to make pizza on a first date. There was a bright blush high on Harry’s cheeks and she dug through the fridge. Louis put a hand on her shoulder so Harry could face her. Her mouth was agape and her eyes wide as her eyes scanned Louis’ face.

_Fuck it._

“Hey love, don’t be nervous. I’d love to make pizza with you. Was there, uh, maybe a specific reason why you wanted to make pizza?”

“I… I don’t know, maybe?” Harry asked. Honestly, she looked a few seconds away from a heart attack

“Does it mean what I think it means?” Louis asked very sweetly, smiling up at Harry.

“Depends on what you think it means.” Harry ducked her head down, unable to look Louis in the eye. 

“H, does, um. Does this mean you’re asking me on a first date?” Louis didn’t want to get her hopes up, but she really felt like Harry was asking her on a date. 

“Yeah, if you want to. I mean, I would like that.” Harry’s head immediately snapped up. Louis let her hand slip from Harry’s bicep to her hand, squeezing it tightly. 

“I’d love to! Where do we start, hot-shot?” Louis asked. She let her hand go as Harry giggled. The taller woman took a step back before running a hand through her short hair.

Harry bit her lip to keep in another giggle before looking over at Louis, closing the fridge door. Louis couldn’t believe she was actually on a first date with this woman. She could feel her heart race as she realised. Maybe it was better that she didn’t have time to prepare, because now she didn’t even have time to freak out.

-

By the time they were nearly halfway through preparing the pizza they were both already covered in flour. Louis would be ashamed if they weren’t having such a great time. The pizza making started out fine; they got all the ingredients from the fridge and were each making their own. 

Suddenly, Louis felt flour plop onto the top of her head and Harry pretended to look anywhere but at her, suddenly interested in the pizza in front of her. Crazy how innocent she looked when she was the only person who could have possibly dropped flour on top of Louis. Not that it was working of course, but it was very cute that she was trying. Louis being Louis, couldn’t let that slide, so she had to get her revenge. That ended in both of them being covered in flour and the pizza nowhere near done. 

“H! We gotta get serious! I’m hungry and I look gross!” Louis complained semi-seriously.

Harry very obviously looked Louis up and down, and then locked eyes with the shorter woman, raising her left eye-brow. Louis was so impressed that she almost forgot Harry just blatantly checked her out. She suppressed a shiver at the thought. 

“Shut up Lou, it’s not nice to lie. You’re one of the most gorgeous women I've seen in my life. I don’t know if I’ve said that yet, but you are. You always are.” Harry said, not taking her green eyes off of Louis.

Louis was strust with the sincerity of her words, only able to croak out a quiet “Thank you. So are you.”

Suddenly Harry took a step closer, and Louis realised how close she was. She could lean up the slightest bit and plant her lips on Harry’s.

She wondered how she tasted. Would she taste sweet, to match her personality? Or like her iced coffee, which she couldn’t seem to stop drinking? 

“Lou.” Harry said softly, bringing her back to reality, wrapping an arm around her waist.

Harry was looking right at Louis’ lips, and Louis held her breath and closed her eyes. She brought her hand to cradle Harry’s cheek and felt… something… Just as their lips were about to touch, Louis’ eyes widened as she realised the state they were in, covered in flour and small bits of pasta sauce. She pushed Harry back before stepping away.

“No! Not happening! We are not having our first kiss while both covered in flour! That’s not romantic!” Louis exclaimed, laughing.

“Louuuu.” Harry whined.

“What? You want our first kiss to happen while we’re both looking like this?! Feel the flower grain on each other’s lips as we spread around the red sauce?” Louis gestured down to their bodies, which were completely covered. “Later I want to be able to think back to our first kiss and it being a romantic memory, not a gross one.” 

“You’re already thinking of the future?” Harry asked, wide-eyed. 

Shit. She was not supposed to say that out loud. “Maybe? I don’t know? All I know is I’m not kissing you now. I’m making you wait.”

“But Louuu, I wanna kiss you now.” Harry whined while she also pouted.

She was adorable. Maybe she’s in love 

“You’re not getting it now! You gotta work for it, Styles! Let’s make these pizzas, they’re not gonna make themselves.” Louis laughed, while already starting to work on her own pizza. 

-

A dinner and dessert later, and Louis was exhausted. They were flirting constantly, and making the pizzas was hard work. They may have been delicious, but they definitely took some work. When the pizzas were in the oven, Harry and Louis cleaned themselves up. Louis was sure she’d still find some flour later when she was showering, but at least they both looked clean now. 

They were currently snuggling on the sofa. Louis couldn’t imagine a better place to be at right now. They tried to watch a movie, but Harry kept falling asleep, so Louis decided to turn the movie off and just lie there for a while. 

When Harry stirred slightly, Louis sat up and looked at the time. Shit, 11:30 pm. She hadn’t realized how late it was. She needed to be in the studio early the next morning.

“Hey love? Wake up.” She said very quietly. 

“Hhmmpf.” Harry grumbled, not really saying any words. 

“Hey love, I’m really sorry, but I do really have to get home. I have to be at the studio tomorrow at 8 am, so I should really get some sleep.”

“What? What time is it?” Harry asked, a little more coherently now.

“11:30 pm. You looked so cute sleeping, I didn’t want to wake you.” Louis admitted, but she knew it was worth it the second she saw Harry blush.

“Shit, yeah. I can’t believe I fell asleep on our first date, how lame is that?” Harry pouted. “Wait, this was a date right?” She asked in a hurry. 

“Yeah H, this was a date.” Louis said softly. “Also, not lame at all. You had a busy day, and I don’t blame you. I’m hard work to entertain.” Louis laughed.

“No Lou, I loved it! I did. I just hardly got any sleep last night because I was so nervous.” Harry blushed.

“You were nervous?” Harry nodded. “Was it because you were gonna ask me on a date?” She teased and tickled Harry’s side.

“Yeah. I didn’t know if I had read all the signals wrong and you didn’t feel the same as me… I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.”

Harry had sat up, leaning onto Louis’ side. She was such a warm, comfortable weight, all sleep soft next to her. They looked at each other, sitting almost as close as possible. 

_She should kiss her._

“H.”

And then suddenly Louis cupped Harry’s jaw with her hands and she gently pressed her lips against Harry’s. They were very soft, like she expected them to be. She experimentally ran her tongue over Harry’s lips, and Harry opened them in an instant. She tasted sweet, Louis noticed, even though she had just woken up. 

They both got a little lost in the kiss, only stopping when they had to come up for air. They smiled at each other. 

“Hey.”

“Hey. So, do you believe me now when I say I definitely feel the same as you do?” Louis joked, still a little breathless from the kiss.

“Yeah. Yeah I do, maybe.” Harry sighed, seemingly happy. “You should kiss me again just to drive the point home.”

Louis leaned in once again to give her a small peck. “Hey, as much as I’d love to just do this the whole night, I do really need to get home.”

“Yeah, okay.” She said disappointedly. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

They got up, and took a lot longer to walk to the front door than necessary, because they kept giving each other pecks in between. 

“Hey, what are you doing next Friday night?” Louis asked, just before she stepped outside.

“Don’t know, why? Don’t think I have anything planned.”

“Great! Then I’m taking you out on Friday, wear something nice and I’ll pick you up at eight!” Louis looked at Harry, who still seemed a little unsure. “What, you didn’t think this would be a one time only thing right? Or well, it can be if you want…” Louis trailed on afterwards, not wanting to come across as too eager.

“No! I’d love to go on another date. So, Friday it is!” Harry laughed.

“Great! Now it’s my time to woo you.”

“What do you mean woo? I didn’t even do anything today.” Harry pouted.

“Hello, have you seen yourself?! Did you see yourself in the kitchen? That was a lot of wooing me you’ve done, Styles. Whether you realised it or not.”

Harry blushed, and apparently didn’t really know what to say. 

“Okay, okay, I get it. Now get out and text me when you’re back home safely.” Harry joked. “Wow, I’m glad Niall encouraged me to go ahead with that ad.” Harry whispered under her breath, but still loudly enough that Louis could hear. _What?_

“What do you mean? Did you already know Niall?”

Harry’s head snapped up, apparently shocked that Louis heard that. “No? Maybe?” Harry tried to talk herself out of it. “Okay, what did you hear?” She pouted.

“Oh not much, just the part that Niall encouraged you to put out the ad.” Louis said sarcastically, not really knowing what to make of this whole situation. 

“Yeah, funny story?” Harry laughed a little sadly. “Niall and I’d already met before you introduced us, actually. We have some mutual friends, so we met at a bar a few months ago. She thought we’d be perfect together, but didn’t just straight up want to introduce us, so she suggested we’d do it this way. She knew you were a terrible cook, her words not mine!” She hastily added. “And thought this would be a great way for us to meet. So, that’s why when you mentioned that you needed help she found the ad so fast.” Harry explained. “Are you mad at me?”

Louis didn’t really know what she felt. “I don’t think so? I mean, I’m definitely going to kick Niall when I get home, that little shit.” Louis laughed. “But, I don’t think I’m mad. A little confused maybe, and I feel a little set-up, but not mad. Still feel a little like we didn’t naturally meet, and that makes me a little sad, maybe.” 

“Hey, that doesn’t have to make it any less! It’s just like Niall would’ve introduced us, but without the added pressure of having to make it work because our friends want it to.” Harry tried to explain.

Louis did see that point. “But, for you there was, right? Like, you knew Niall and you knew she wanted to introduce us.”

“Yeah, but it’s different, Lou. I knew you didn’t know, and because of that the pressure was different. I wouldn’t even call it pressure. It was more of a ‘I know someone who knows a girl who could be a good fit, so I guess I’ll meet her and see what happens’. And look where we are now!” Harry sounded a little sad.

“I guess I understand. I see your point, and I’m definitely not mad at you. Niall will have to pay for it, but you get off with a little warning. Don’t pull this shit on me again though, you don’t want to experience the Tomlinson-fury.” Louis joked.

“Ooh, is that something I should be afraid of? I’d quite like to see that, if I’m honest. The Louis Tomlinson-fury, sounds sexy.”

“Shut up, I’m serious.” Louis tried to look serious, but she didn’t last very long. She burst out laughing, and so did Harry. “Ok, ok, I really do have to get home. I had a very lovely time tonight, and I’ll see you on Friday.”

Louis quickly kissed her one more time, and then she was walking down the staircase of the complex and going back home.

-

The week passed very quickly for Louis. She kept herself busy with work, texting Harry, pissing off her flatmates, and texting Harry more. Sadly they were both too busy to arrange anything more than texting, but Louis was really looking forward to Friday night. She had thought of the perfect idea for a date. Harry would come over to her flat (Liam and Niall will be sexhiled) and Louis would prepare a home-cooked meal. 

Listen, she knew that that had been a risk in the past, but Louis truly believed she had gotten a lot better at cooking, plus she wanted to really impress Harry with a new dish. So, every day after she had gotten off work, Louis was working on perfecting the Thai red curry shrimp that she would be making (and no, she had not looked at the article ‘24 Romantic Dinners Literally Anyone with an Hour and a Brain Could Make’, Liam was lying). The recipe didn’t seem that difficult, so she was sure this would be the perfect meal to make. The first few days of testing it out were tough. For starters, she missed a lot of the ingredients, so she had to do a big shop on Monday, even though she was already exhausted after work. At the beginning, the curry paste kept sticking to the pan, and on Wednesday she did something completely wrong, which made the whole dish taste disgusting. On Thursday she finally got the recipe right, and Liam and Niall were the lucky testers. 

“Lou, did you honestly make this?”

“Yeah! It’s good, isn’t it? Please tell me it’s decent.” Louis pleaded. 

“It is! It’s actually so nice. I’m so impressed. Looks like you’re actually learning.” Niall exclaimed.

Louis couldn’t help but smile at that. It took a lot of time and practise, but she delivered. She couldn’t wait to make this for Harry tomorrow and hopefully impress her a little bit in the process. 

-

It was ten minutes before Harry was supposed to arrive, and Louis was panicking. The whole day had been shit. She hadn’t managed to write even a single sentence today with how nervous she had been. To make matters worse, now she didn’t know what to wear.

“Lou! Hurry up! She’ll be here soon!” Liam shouted from the hallway. Liam and Niall were supposed to have left already, but after seeing how stressed Louis was, they couldn’t exactly leave her alone.

“Get out of here Lima! I’m panicking! What am I doing, what am I gonna wear?” 

Louis presumed Liam was rolling his eyes, luckily for her Louis couldn’t see, due to the closed bedroom door between them.

“Wear that cute blue sundress. Makes your eyes pop.”

Why hadn’t Louis thought of that? She did look great in that dress. She quickly changed, fixed her hair (meaning taking a brush through her shoulder-length hair and fixing her fringe), and was ready with two minutes to spare.

Louis walked out of her room, and to her surprise Liam was still sitting there. 

“Thank you Li, love you, I’m doing better now! If you don’t leave I will kill you.” Louis exclaimed, while pressing a kiss to Liam’s cheek, to show him how grateful she was.

“Love you! But you’re stressing way too much, calm down, you already know she likes you. Just focus on not messing up the dinner and you’ll be golden.”

Before Louis could answer her, the doorbell rang and Liam scooted Louis towards the front door. Louis opened the door, but before she could say anything, Liam and Niall were dashing past Harry, out the door.

“Hi Harry, you look great, have fun tonight, byeee!” 

Louis looked at Harry, and she felt like all the air had been sucked out of her. She looked gorgeous. Harry was wearing her staple black doc martens, with some dark wash boyfriend jeans and a flowery button down tucked into them. 

“Hey H, you do look great. Come on in!” Louis tried to play it nonchalantly, but it didn’t work that well. 

“Look at yourself!” Harry laughed. “Don’t I get a kiss first?” Now she pouted.

Louis blushed and gave Harry a quick kiss.

“Happy now?”

“Very!” Harry laughed. “Now I’m ready to come in.”

-

Even though Louis was the one who organised it, she could already tell this was going to be a great date. They were joking, stealing kisses, and drinking wine. What more could a gay woman want? Louis had ordered Harry to stay away from the kitchen, to prove she could do it on her own. She was doing a great job, if she had to say so herself. It was all going great, until she took a break to go back to Harry, because she felt like she hadn’t seen her in too long. A girl’s in love, okay? Wow, love. She hadn’t said that before. But to be fair, that was probably what Louis was feeling. She could seriously see herself with Harry in the future, she was already thinking of them together with multiple kids and living in a big house. It was probably a little too soon, but who cares. Not that she’d tell Harry yet, but she knew the feeling was there.

“Hey, Lou?” Harry asked, while looking a little nervous.

“Yeah?”

“I’m not trying to be mean or anything, but are you sure everything’s going alright? It smells a little… burnt.”

“What?!” At first, Louis didn’t want to believe it, but when she actually smelled, something definitely smelled off. “No! Fucking shit!”

Louis ran to the kitchen, and almost started crying at the sight. Something had definitely started to burn in the pan, because the only thing she could see was a black mass. 

Harry came up behind her, and put her arms around her waist. “Hey, it’s not a big deal. It happens, yeah?” She tried to reassure Louis, but it didn’t really work.

“But it was going so well! And I may or may not have wanted to impress you, and now you just think I suck at cooking again. You can ask Liam and Niall, I made a perfect one yesterday!”

“Hey. I don’t think you suck at cooking. I really don’t. We made a lot of dishes together, didn’t we? And they all tasted great. This is just a little step-back. If you were in my kitchen all the time, I can assure you everything I make would be burnt.” Harry planted a kiss on her neck before suggesting they make something else together. 

Louis couldn’t look her in the eyes. “No, I’ve ruined it now. I’m sorry.” She didn’t expect herself to be so sad, but she so badly wanted to do well.

“Why don’t you go sit on the sofa and put on a movie, and I’ll make something for us to eat?” Harry suggested with a little twinkle in her eye.

“You’re not leaving?” Louis asked hopefully. 

“No? Why would I? I’ve just gotten here.” Harry asked, not knowing why Louis would think that.

“I don’t know, just, I’ve ruined the dinner.” Louis pouted, fully expecting Harry to leave. 

“So? Shit happens. I’ll see what you have in the fridge, and you go ahead and start a movie.” Harry shrugged and walked over to kiss Louis.

When Louis pulled back, she was a little disoriented, but she did like the sound of that, so she went to the living room, while Harry could do her work.

-

“Lou, dinner’s ready!” Louis jumped, having fallen asleep for just a little bit. 

When she walked into the kitchen, Louis was stunned. On the kitchen table there were candles, and two plates filled with some very nice looking food. 

“H, what the hell? How did you do this?” Louis was surprised she succeeded to say some coherent words.

Harry just shrugged. “I looked at what you had in the fridge, then made some pasta from that, and I found these candles in the cupboard.” She pointed to the candles. 

Louis honestly didn’t even know they had candles, but she was glad they did.

“This is amazing, honestly.” Louis was still a little at a loss for words. She walked over to Harry, still standing at the stove, and kissed her with a little more passion than necessary in the kitchen. But to be fair, no one was watching, so why shouldn’t they?

Harry broke the kiss, and Louis had to admit she’d rather keep on kissing Harry.

“We can continue this later, but we do need to eat now.” Harry exclaimed, looking very happy and a little red in the cheeks. 

-

“This. was. the. best. meal. I’ve. ever. had.” Louis wasn’t even kidding.

“Lou, stop it! You know it wasn’t that good. But I’m glad you enjoyed it so much.” Harry laughed.

“No, I mean it! You had to work with the ingredients we had, and I know there weren’t a lot, so I’m very impressed.”

“Well, thank you.” Harry blushed, and Louis had to remember that for later.

“Now, why don’t I go do the dishes, you go make yourself comfortable on the sofa and we can watch a movie after?”

“Are you sure? I can totally help you with the dishes.”

Louis couldn’t believe her. She was literally the nicest woman on the planet. “No way, you did all the cooking. I’m gonna clean up here. Go! Go! Go pick out a good movie and wait for me!” Louis added a wink afterwards.

-

Turns out Harry is a big sucker for romantic comedies, not that she was surprised. They ended up watching Harry’s pick of _Crazy, Stupid, Love,_ because, “Hey! It’s a classic!” Louis didn’t disagree and cuddled up closer to Harry as the movie began. Harry ended up falling asleep halfway through the film (again), but Louis just let her sleep. When Harry finally stirred and woke up, it was already 11:45 pm and Louis was not looking forward to Harry having to walk home at that hour. 

“Hey, love?”

“Yeah?” There were words coming out of Harry’s mouth, but it didn’t look like she was fully awake.

“It’s already 11:45 pm, and you look way too tired, so how about you sleep here? I’ll sleep on the sofa, and you can take my bed.”

Harry was suddenly a lot more awake. “Lou, I can’t do that. You’re not sleeping on the sofa. We can share. Just to sleep of course! I don’t like the idea of you sleeping on the sofa, and to be fair, I wanna cuddle.” Harry looked very cute, so Louis was having a hard time disagreeing with her. 

“If you’re okay with it, I am.”

-

That was how they ended up sharing Louis’ bed, both in Louis’ pyjamas, cuddling, both already half asleep.

“Hey, Lou?” Harry asked softly.

“Yeah?” Louis answered, barely keeping her eyes open.

“Want to go on another date with me?”

“With you? Always.” 

-

Louis awoke the next morning, alone in her bed, while she smelled eggs in the distance. She reluctantly got out of bed (her bed was very comfy, after all. It would be more comfortable with Harry, though.) and made her way to the kitchen. To her surprise, Niall and Liam were sitting at the kitchen table. Not so surprisingly, Harry was making breakfast.

“Morning Lou! Sleep well?” Niall asked, way too loudly.

“Shh, shh. You don’t have to scream, I’m right here. But yes, thank you, I did.” Louis couldn’t stop the smile that was forming on her face. 

“Morning Lou.” Harry said very softly, while only having eyes for Louis.

“Hey love, missed you this morning.” Louis said jokingly. 

“Sorry. I woke up fairly early, thought I’d go ahead and make breakfast. You looked too cute asleep to wake up.” 

“Maybe we should’ve stayed out, they’re way too gross.” Liam said jokingly.

“Nahh, they’re cute. Look how happy they look.” Niall replied. 

Louis couldn’t help but blush at that. When she looked at Harry, she was sure she could spot a similar blush on her face. 

“So, can we assume the date yesterday went well?” Liam asked, eager to hear all about it.

“Depends on what you call well. I was a disaster. Harry on the other hand was the loveliest.” Louis joked self-deprecatingly. 

“No you weren’t!” Harry turned to face Niall and Liam. “It was great, honestly. Lou had a little problem with the dinner, but it all turned out wonderfully.”

“Wait, what happened?!” Niall exclaimed, looking from Harry to Louis and back.

“A little problem?! I burnt the food!” 

“You did what?! Lou, you made it so well on Thursday!”

“I know, that’s why I was so bummed. I don’t even know what happened. I turned away for like one second and when I came back the food was black.” Louis pouted. 

“Then what did you do?” Liam asked, looking very invested in this whole story. 

“Harry jumped in and saved the day. She magically made some wonderful pasta with what we had lying around, and then we watched a movie.” Louis said, not being able to hide her smile. When she looked over at Harry, she was excited to see she had a matching smile on her face.

“Wait, so you found someone who stuck around after you burnt the food? This is a good one Lou, you can’t let her go.” Niall laughed.

Harry’s smile was blinding, and Louis assumed she looked the same. 

“Yeah, I think I’ll keep her around.”

**Author's Note:**

> oof was that ending too sappy? if you enjoyed it you can find the rebloggable tumblr post [here! ](https://loveonwallstour.tumblr.com/post/618756280047337472/how-could-anybody-deny-you-sunflowergolden-me)here (it'd mean a lot if you'd want to rb it)  
> ok that's it thank youuu for reading


End file.
